Dual session packet data network connection

ABSTRACT

A processing system of a cellular network having a processor may receive, from an endpoint device via one of a first radio access infrastructure or a second radio access infrastructure of the cellular network, a request to establish a connection to a packet data network via the cellular network. The processing system may establish, in response to the request, a first session for the endpoint device via the first radio access infrastructure, and a second session for the endpoint device via the second radio access infrastructure of the cellular network, where the connection to the packet data network includes the first session and the second session. The processing system may further configure the first session or the second session for control plane signaling for the connection, and configure the first session, the second session, or both the first session and the second session for user plane communications for the connection.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/827,284, filed on Nov. 30, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,044,773, whichis herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communicationnetworks, and more particularly to devices, non-transitorycomputer-readable media, and methods for establishing a dual sessionpacket data network connection via a cellular network.

BACKGROUND

A cloud radio access network (RAN) is part of the 3rd GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) fifth generation (5G) specifications formobile networks. As part of the migration of cellular networks towards5G, a cloud RAN may be coupled to an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) networkuntil new cellular core networks are deployed in accordance with 5Gspecifications. For instance, a cellular network in a “non-stand alone”(NSA) mode architecture may include 5G radio access network componentssupported by a fourth generation (4G)/Long Term Evolution (LTE) corenetwork (e.g., an EPC network). However, in a 5G “standalone” (SA) modepoint-to-point or service-based architecture, components and functionsof the EPC network may be replaced by a 5G core network. 5G is intendedto deliver superior high speed and performance. However, during initialdeployments, 5G may suffer from limited coverage areas, high costs ofdeployment, slow rollout, and more costly initial subscription plans.

SUMMARY

In one example, the present disclosure discloses a device,computer-readable medium, and method for establishing a dual sessionpacket data network connection via a cellular network. For example, amethod may include a processing system of a cellular network having aprocessor receiving, from an endpoint device via one of a first radioaccess infrastructure of the cellular network or a second radio accessinfrastructure of the cellular network, a request to establish aconnection to a packet data network via the cellular network. Theprocessing system may establish, in response to the request, a firstsession for the endpoint device via the first radio accessinfrastructure, and a second session for the endpoint device via thesecond radio access infrastructure of the cellular network, where theconnection to the packet data network includes the first session and thesecond session. The processing system may further configure the firstsession or the second session for control plane signaling for theconnection, and configure the first session, the second session, or boththe first session and the second session for user plane communicationsfor the connection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The teachings of the present disclosure can be readily understood byconsidering the following detailed description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an example system, in accordancewith the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for establishing adual session packet data network connection via a cellular network; and

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a computing device, or computingsystem, specifically programmed to perform the steps, functions, blocks,and/or operations described herein.

To facilitate understanding, similar reference numerals have been used,where possible, to designate elements that are common to the figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure broadly discloses methods, computer-readablemedia, and devices for establishing a dual session packet data networkconnection via a cellular network. In one example, the presentdisclosure provides a dual radio enabled endpoint device that mayinitiate a service request (e.g., a request for a connection to a packetdata network (PDN)). The request may be a request for a radio resourceconnection (RRC) for both a 4G session (e.g., a packet data protocol(PDP) session) and a 5G session. In one example, the request may beinitially sent by the endpoint device and received by the cellularnetwork via first or second radio access network infrastructure (e.g., a4G eNodeB or a 5G “new radio” (NR)). In one example, the first or secondradio access network infrastructure may issue a temporary RRC “hold”time and a “keep-alive” time for a respective session via the first orsecond radio access network infrastructure.

Examples of the present disclosure also include dynamic automaticservice discovery (d-ASD). In particular, the cellular network mayauto-instantiate communications channels (slice, bearer, PDN connection,etc.) to support the service associated with the request. For instance,in one example, the first or second radio access network infrastructureforwards the request to a service layer 4G/5G interworking device (e.g.,an application server) deployed in the communication network. In oneexample, the request may be forwarded via a mobility management entity(MME) or an access and mobility management function (AMF) depending uponwhich radio access technology (e.g., 4G or 5G) is used by the endpointdevice to send the request.

In one example, the interworking device may determine a service levelagreement (SLA) requirement for the user plane associated with therequest. For instance, the interworking device may obtain subscriber SLAinformation from a home subscriber server (HSS) and/or a unified datamanagement function (UDM). The interworking device may also obtain aselection of a network slice for the 5G session from a network sliceselection function (NSSF). In one example, the NSSF may also provide aselection of a network slice for the 4G session. In one example, theNSSF may select the appropriate slice(s) based upon the SLA. Theinterworking device may then establish the first (4G) session and thesecond (5G) session for the connection to the PDN based upon the SLAand/or the network slice(s) identified by the NSSF.

In one example, the endpoint device comprises a dual radio device thatallows simultaneous 5G and 4/GLTE transmission and/or reception for bothdata and control channels. In addition, in one example, the endpointdevice includes a separate and independent dynamic trusted executionenvironment (d-TEE) for each of 5G and LTE communications so thatindependent sessions (associated with a combined PDN connection) can beinstantiated on both 5G and LTE without interference. In one example,the present disclosure further provides a dynamic time-to-live (d-TTL)which allows intelligent allocation of resources based on a dynamicassignment of TTL for each 5G and LTE session. For instance, when thesystem detects an additional need for a session to be extended, the TTLwill automatically lengthen. When the system detects there is no needfor the session to be extended, the TTL will automatically shorten.

Examples of the present disclosure provide various advantages. Forinstance, in one example the present disclosure may provide controlplane and data plane separation. For instance, a 5G session may be usedfor the control plane, while an LTE session may be used for the dataplane. Such an arrangement may be used to address various scenarios,including emergency events such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis,volcanic eruptions, etc. In another example, the data plane may beassigned to both the 5G session and the 4G session, while the controlplane may be assigned to one or the other of the 5G session or the 4Gsession. Different arrangements may be used for different scenariosincluding: real-time high-performance control coupled with non-real time“best effort” data transmission, heterogeneous data performance formassive Internet of Things (IoT) or vehicle-to-everything” (V2X)communications, such as assigning high performance data to use 5G andlow or mid-performance to use LTE, and so forth.

In one example, the present disclosure may relate to 3GPP New Radio (NR)and/or 5G radio access technologies operating in the centimeter andmillimeter wave frequency band. In one example, millimeter wave (mmWave)spectrum (e.g., spectrum with carrier frequencies between 30 and 300GHz), is attractive for wireless communications systems since availabletransmission bandwidth roughly scales with the carrier frequency.However, the coupling loss between a transmitter and a receiver alsoscales as a function of the transmission bandwidth due to the largerthermal noise floor. In order to overcome the coupling loss at highcarrier frequencies, and also because the antenna apertures are muchsmaller at higher frequencies, antenna arrays with a large number ofantenna elements are employed in mmWave communications systems. Inaddition, these antenna arrays are used to electrically steertransmissions into a certain direction (also known as beamforming) byco-phasing the waveforms of the various antenna elements. The beamformednature of such a wireless communications system complicates its designand operation. In contrast, LTE/4G radio access networks areomni-directional wireless communications systems and may have a greaterrange given the same transmit power. Thus, deployments of 5G radioaccess infrastructure may not fully supplant or make obsolete existingand yet to be deployed 4G/LTE infrastructure. In this regard, thepresent disclosure may relate to a hybrid, or integrated 4G/LTE-5Gcellular core network and more particularly to devices,computer-readable media, and methods for establishing a dual sessionpacket data network connection via a cellular network, as describedherein. These and other aspects of the present disclosure are discussedin greater detail below in connection with the examples of FIGS. 1-3.

To better understand the present disclosure, FIG. 1 illustrates anexample network, or system 100 in which examples of the presentdisclosure for establishing a dual session packet data networkconnection via a cellular network may operate. In one example, thesystem 100 includes a telecommunication service provider network 101.The telecommunication service provider network 101 may comprise acellular network 110 (e.g., a 4G/Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, a4G/5G hybrid network, or the like), a service network 140, and an IPMultimedia Subsystem (IMS) network 150. The system 100 may furtherinclude other networks 180 connected to the telecommunication serviceprovider network 101.

In one example, the cellular network 110 comprises an access network 120and a cellular core network 130. In one example, the access network 120comprises a cloud RAN. For instance, a cloud RAN is part of the 3GPP 5Gspecifications for mobile networks. As part of the migration of cellularnetworks towards 5G, a cloud RAN may be coupled to an Evolved PacketCore (EPC) network until new cellular core networks are deployed inaccordance with 5G specifications. In one example, access network 120may include cell sites 121 and 122 and a baseband unit (BBU) pool 126.In a cloud RAN, radio frequency (RF) components, referred to as remoteradio heads (RRHs), may be deployed remotely from baseband units, e.g.,atop cell site masts, buildings, and so forth. In one example, the BBUpool 126 may be located at distances as far as 20-80 kilometers or moreaway from the antennas/remote radio heads of cell sites 121 and 122 thatare serviced by the BBU pool 126.

Although cloud RAN infrastructure may include distributed RRHs andcentralized baseband units, a heterogeneous network may include cellsites where RRH and BBU components remain co-located at the cell site.For instance, cell site 123 may include RRH and BBU components. Thus,cell site 123 may comprise a self-contained “base station.” With regardto cell sites 121 and 122, the “base stations” may comprise RRHs at cellsites 121 and 122 coupled with respective baseband units of BBU pool126.

It should also be noted in accordance with efforts to migrate to 5Gnetworks, cell sites may be deployed with new antenna and radioinfrastructures such as multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antennas,and millimeter wave antennas. In this regard, a cell, e.g., thefootprint or coverage area of a cell site may in some instances besmaller than the coverage provided by NodeBs or eNodeBs of 3G-4G RANinfrastructure. For example, the coverage of a cell site utilizing oneor more millimeter wave antennas may be 1000 feet or less.

In accordance with the present disclosure, each of cell sites 121-123may comprise a 5G “new radio” (NR), also referred to as a gNodeB (gNB).For instance, cell sites 121-123 may comprise directional antennas, orantenna arrays (e.g., having a half-power azimuthal beamwidth of 120degrees or less, 90 degrees or less, 60 degrees or less, etc.), e.g.,multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna(s). For instance, 5Gantenna arrays may be arranged for beamforming in a frequency banddesignated for 5G high data rate communications. For instance, theantenna array for 5G may be designed for operation in a frequency bandgreater than 5 GHz. In one example, the array for 5G may be designed foroperation in a frequency band greater than 20 GHz. Cell site 123 mayalso include a corresponding 5G radio (also referred to as atransceiver, or base station equipment) to receive (and transmit) viadirectional beam(s), or multi-path and/or spatial diversity signals. Forcell sites 121 and 122, BBU pool 126 may include corresponding 5Gradios.

In one example, access network 120 may include both 4G/LTE and 5G radioaccess network infrastructure. For example, access network 120 mayinclude cell site 124, which may comprise 4G/LTE base station equipment,e.g., an eNodeB. In addition, access network 120 may include cell sitescomprising both 4G and 5G base station equipment, e.g., respectiveantennas, feed networks, baseband equipment, and so forth. For instance,cell site 123 may include both 4G and 5G radios/base station equipmentand corresponding connections to 4G and 5G components in cellular corenetwork 130. Furthermore, in accordance with the present disclosure, abase station (e.g., cell sites 121-124 and/or baseband units within BBUpool 126) may comprise all or a portion of a computing device or system,such as computing system 300, and/or processing system 302 as describedin connection with FIG. 3 below, and may be configured to provide one ormore functions to support examples of the present disclosure forestablishing a dual session packet data network connection via acellular network. Although access network 120 is illustrated asincluding both 4G and 5G components, in another example, 4G and 5Gcomponents may be considered to be contained within different accessnetworks. Nevertheless, such different access networks may have a samewireless coverage area, or fully or partially overlapping coverageareas.

In one example, the cellular core network 130 provides various functionsthat support wireless services in the LTE environment. In one example,cellular core network 130 is an Internet Protocol (IP) packet corenetwork that supports both real-time and non-real-time service deliveryacross a LTE network, e.g., as specified by the 3GPP standards. In oneexample, cell sites 121 and 122 in the access network 120 are incommunication with the cellular core network 130 via baseband units inBBU pool 126.

In cellular core network 130, network devices such as MobilityManagement Entity (MME) 131 and Serving Gateway (SGW) 132 supportvarious functions as part of the cellular network 110. For example, MME131 is the control node for LTE access network components, e.g., cellsite 124 and/or eNodeB aspects of cell site 123. In one embodiment, MME131 is responsible for UE (User Equipment) tracking and paging (e.g.,such as retransmissions), bearer activation and deactivation process,selection of the SGW, and authentication of a user. In one embodiment,SGW 132 routes and forwards user data packets, while also acting as themobility anchor for the user plane during inter-cell handovers and as ananchor for mobility between 5G, LTE and other wireless technologies,such as 2G and 3G wireless networks.

In addition, cellular core network 130 may comprise a Home SubscriberServer (HSS) 133 that contains subscription-related information (e.g.,subscriber profiles), performs authentication and authorization of awireless service user, and provides information about the subscriber'slocation. The cellular core network 130 may also comprise a packet datanetwork (PDN) gateway (PGW) 134 which serves as a gateway that providesaccess between the cellular core network 130 and various packet datanetworks (PDNs), e.g., service network 140, IMS network 150, othernetwork(s) 180, and the like.

The foregoing describes long term evolution (LTE) cellular core networkcomponents (e.g., EPC components). In accordance with the presentdisclosure, cellular core network 130 may further include other types ofwireless network components e.g., 2G network components, 3G networkcomponents, 5G network components, etc. Thus, cellular core network 130may comprise an integrated network, e.g., including any two or more of2G-5G infrastructure and technologies, and the like. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 1, cellular core network 130 further comprises 5Gcomponents, including: an access and mobility management function (AMF)135, a network slice selection function (NSSF) 136, a session managementfunction (SMF), a unified data management function (UDM) 138, and a userplane function (UPF) 139.

In one example, AMF 135 may perform registration management, connectionmanagement, endpoint device reachability management, mobilitymanagement, access authentication and authorization, security anchoring,security context management, coordination with non-5G components, e.g.,MME 131, and so forth. NSSF 136 may select a network slice or networkslices to serve an endpoint device, or may indicate one or more networkslices that are permitted to be selected to serve an endpoint device.For instance, in one example, AMF 135 may query NSSF 136 for one or morenetwork slices in response to a request from an endpoint device toestablish a connection to communicate with a PDN. The NSSF 136 mayprovide the selection to AMF 135, or may provide one or more permittednetwork slices to AMF 135, where AMF 135 may select the network slicefrom among the choices. A network slice may comprise a set of cellularnetwork components, such as AMF(s), SMF(s), UPF(s), and so forth thatmay be arranged into different network slices which may logically beconsidered to be separate cellular networks. In one example, differentnetwork slices may be preferentially utilized for different types ofservices. For instance, a first network slice may be utilized for sensordata communications, Internet of Things (IoT), and machine-typecommunication (MTC), a second network slice may be used for streamingvideo services, a third network slice may be utilized for voice calling,a fourth network slice may be used for gaming services, and so forth.

In one example, SMF 137 may perform endpoint device IP addressmanagement, UPF selection, UPF configuration for endpoint device trafficrouting to an external packet data network (PDN), charging datacollection, quality of service (QoS) enforcement, and so forth. UDM 138may perform user identification, credential processing, accessauthorization, registration management, mobility management,subscription management, and so forth. As illustrated in FIG. 1, UDM 138may be tightly coupled to HSS 133. For instance, UDM 138 and HSS 133 maybe co-located on a single host device, or may share a same processingsystem comprising one or more host devices. In one example, UDM 138 andHSS 133 may comprise interfaces for accessing the same or substantiallysimilar information stored in a database on a same shared device or oneor more different devices, such as subscription information, endpointdevice capability information, endpoint device location information, andso forth. For instance, in one example, UDM 138 and HSS 133 may bothaccess subscription information or the like stored in a unified datarepository (UDR) (not shown).

UPF 139 may provide an interconnection point to one or more externalpacket data networks (PDN(s)) and perform packet routing and forwarding,QoS enforcement, traffic shaping, packet inspection, and so forth. Inone example, UPF 139 may also comprise a mobility anchor point. In thisregard, it should be noted that UPF 139 and PGW 134 may provide the sameor substantially similar functions, and in one example, may comprise thesame device, or may share a same processing system comprising one ormore host devices.

It should be noted that other examples may comprise a cellular networkwith a “non-stand alone” (NSA) mode architecture where 5G radio accessnetwork components, such as a “new radio” (NR), “gNodeB” (or “gNB”), andso forth are supported by a 4G/LTE core network (e.g., an EPC network),or a 5G “standalone” (SA) mode point-to-point or service-basedarchitecture where components and functions of an EPC network arereplaced by a 5G core network (e.g., an “NC”). For instance, innon-standalone (NSA) mode architecture, LTE radio equipment may continueto be used for cell signaling and management communications, while userdata may rely upon a 5G new radio (NR), including millimeter wavecommunications, for example. However, the example of FIG. 1 provides ahybrid, or integrated 4G/LTE-5G cellular core network 130. In thisregard, FIG. 1 illustrates a connection between AMF 135 and MME 131,e.g., an “N26” interface which may convey signaling between AMF 135 andMME 131 relating to establishing a dual session packet data networkconnection, and so forth.

In one example, service network 140 may comprise one or more devices forproviding services to subscribers, customers, and or users. For example,telecommunication service provider network 101 may provide a cloudstorage service, web server hosting, and other services. As such,service network 140 may represent aspects of telecommunication serviceprovider network 101 where infrastructure for supporting such servicesmay be deployed. In one example, other networks 180 may represent one ormore enterprise networks, a circuit switched network (e.g., a publicswitched telephone network (PSTN)), a cable network, a digitalsubscriber line (DSL) network, a metropolitan area network (MAN), anInternet service provider (ISP) network, and the like. In one example,the other networks 180 may include different types of networks. Inanother example, the other networks 180 may be the same type of network.In one example, the other networks 180 may represent the Internet ingeneral. In this regard, it should be noted that any one or more ofservice network 140, other networks 180, or IMS network 150 may comprisea packet data network (PDN) to which an endpoint device may establish aconnection via cellular core network 130 in accordance with the presentdisclosure.

In one example, any one or more of the components of cellular corenetwork 130 may comprise network function virtualization infrastructure(NFVI), e.g., SDN host devices (i.e., physical devices) configured tooperate as various virtual network functions (VNFs), such as a virtualMME (vMME), a virtual HHS (vHSS), a virtual serving gateway (vSGW), avirtual packet data network gateway (vPGW), and so forth. For instance,MME 131 may comprise a vMME, SGW 132 may comprise a vSGW, and so forth.Similarly, AMF 135, NSSF 136, SMF 137, UDM 138, and/or UPF 139 may alsocomprise NFVI configured to operate as VNFs. In addition, when comprisedof various NFVI, the cellular core network 130 may be expanded (orcontracted) to include more or less components than the state ofcellular core network 130 that is illustrated in FIG. 1.

In this regard, the cellular core network 130 may also include aself-optimizing network (SON)/software defined network (SDN) controller190. In one example, SON/SDN controller 190 may function as aself-optimizing network (SON) orchestrator that is responsible foractivating and deactivating, allocating and deallocating, and otherwisemanaging a variety of network components. For instance, SON/SDNcontroller 190 may activate and deactivate antennas/remote radio headsof cell sites 121 and 122, respectively, may allocate and deactivatebaseband units in BBU pool 126, and may perform other operations foractivating antennas based upon a location and a movement of an endpointdevice or a group of endpoint devices, in accordance with the presentdisclosure.

In one example, SON/SDN controller 190 may further comprise a SDNcontroller that is responsible for instantiating, configuring, managing,and releasing VNFs. For example, in a SDN architecture, a SDN controllermay instantiate VNFs on shared hardware, e.g., NFVI/host devices/SDNnodes, which may be physically located in various places. In oneexample, the configuring, releasing, and reconfiguring of SDN nodes iscontrolled by the SON/SDN controller 190, which may store configurationcodes, e.g., computer/processor-executable programs, instructions, orthe like for various functions which can be loaded onto an SDN node. Inanother example, the SON/SDN controller 190 may instruct, or request anSDN node to retrieve appropriate configuration codes from anetwork-based repository, e.g., a storage device, to relieve the SDNcontroller from having to store and transfer configuration codes forvarious functions to the SDN nodes.

Accordingly, the SON/SDN controller 190 may be connected directly orindirectly to any one or more network elements of cellular core network130, and of the system 100 in general. Due to the relatively largenumber of connections available between SON/SDN controller 190 and othernetwork elements, none of the actual links to the SON/SDN controller 190are shown in FIG. 1. Similarly, intermediate devices and links betweenMME 131, SGW 132, cell sites 121-124, PGW 134, AMF 135, NSSF 136, SMF137, UDM 138, and/or UPF 139, and other components of system 100 arealso omitted for clarity, such as additional routers, switches,gateways, and the like.

FIG. 1 also illustrates various endpoint devices, e.g., user equipment(UE) 104 and 106. UE 104 and 106 may each comprise a cellular telephone,a smartphone, a tablet computing device, a laptop computer, a pair ofcomputing glasses, a wireless enabled wristwatch, a wireless transceiverfor a fixed wireless broadband (FWB) deployment, or any othercellular-capable mobile telephony and computing device (broadly, “anendpoint device”). In one example, each of UE 104 and UE 106 may each beequipped with one or more directional antennas, or antenna arrays (e.g.,having a half-power azimuthal beamwidth of 120 degrees or less, 90degrees or less, 60 degrees or less, etc.), e.g., MIMO antenna(s), and acorresponding transceiver to receive directional beam(s), or multi-pathand/or spatial diversity signals. For instance, 5G antenna arrays may bearranged for beamforming in a frequency band designated for 5G high datarate communications. For instance, the antenna array for 5G may bedesigned for operation in a frequency band greater than 5 GHz. In oneexample, the array for 5G may be designed for operation in a frequencyband greater than 20 GHz.

In accordance with the present disclosure, each of UE 104 and UE 106 mayeach be equipped with an antenna array and corresponding transceiver for4G, which may be designed for operation in a frequency band less than 5GHz, e.g., 500 MHz to 3 GHz. In addition, in one example, the antennaarray (and/or the RF or baseband processing components associatedtherewith) may not be configured for and/or be capable of beamforming,(e.g., an omnidirectional antenna). Each of UE 104 and UE 106 may alsoinclude a gyroscope and compass to determine orientation(s), a globalpositioning system (GPS) receiver for determining a location, and soforth. In addition, in one example, each of the UE 104 and 106 maycomprise all or a portion of a computing device or system, such ascomputing system 300, and/or processing system 302 as described inconnection with FIG. 3 below, and may be configured to provide one ormore functions in connection with examples of the present disclosure forestablishing a dual session packet data network connection via acellular network.

In one example, aspects of the present disclosure for establishing adual session packet data network connection via a cellular network,e.g., as described in greater detail below in connection with theexample method 200 of FIG. 2, may be performed by AMF 135. However, inanother example, aspects of the present disclosure for establishing adual session packet data network connection via a cellular network mayalternatively or additionally be provided via another device, such asapplication server (AS) 195. In one example, AS 195 may comprise anapplication function (AF) in accordance with 5G cellular core networkcomponent designations. However, in accordance with the presentdisclosure, AS 195 may also be in communication with 4G networkcomponents, as illustrated by the various links connecting AS 195 toother components in cellular core network 130. In one example, AS 195may comprise all or a portion of a computing device or system, such ascomputing system 300, and/or processing system 302 as described inconnection with FIG. 3 below, and may be configured to perform variousoperations in connection with establishing a dual session packet datanetwork connection via a cellular network, e.g., as described in greaterdetail below in connection with the example method 200 of FIG. 2.

In addition, it should be noted that as used herein, the terms“configure,” and “reconfigure” may refer to programming or loading aprocessing system with computer-readable/computer-executableinstructions, code, and/or programs, e.g., in a distributed ornon-distributed memory, which when executed by a processor, orprocessors, of the processing system within a same device or withindistributed devices, may cause the processing system to perform variousfunctions. Such terms may also encompass providing variables, datavalues, tables, objects, or other data structures or the like which maycause a processing system executing computer-readable instructions,code, and/or programs to function differently depending upon the valuesof the variables or other data structures that are provided. As referredto herein a “processing system” may comprise a computing deviceincluding one or more processors, or cores (e.g., as illustrated in FIG.3 and discussed below) or multiple computing devices collectivelyconfigured to perform various steps, functions, and/or operations inaccordance with the present disclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, UE 104 may access wireless services via thecell site 121, while UE 106 may access wireless services via any of cellsites 122-124 located in the access network 120. An example of thepresent disclosure may involve the following steps, functions,operations, and/or processes. First, UE 106 may request servicediscovery via 4G radio access infrastructure or 5G radio accessinfrastructure for establishing a connection to a packet data network(PDN) (e.g., one of service network 140, other networks 180, or IMSnetwork 150). For instance, the UE 106 may utilize an LTE radio totransmit the request to MME 131 via cell site 123 or cell site 124(e.g., an eNodeB), or utilize a 5G radio to transmit the request to AMF135 via cell site 122 or cell site 123 (e.g., a 5G NR). In one exampleMME 131 or AMF 135 may forward the request to a session layer 4G/5Ginterworking device (e.g., AS 195). In addition, in one example, thefirst or second radio access network infrastructure (the receiving cellsite 122-124) may issue a temporary RRC “hold” time and a “keep-alive”time for a respective 4G/LTE or 5G session.

In one example, AS 195 may establish the connection to the PDN byobtaining subscriber information relating to the endpoint device fromHSS 133 and/or UDM 138. The subscriber information may include policies,restrictions, authorizations, and the like when may affect which networkcomponents are selected to handle the session, the quality of service(QoS) to be provided via the components, and so forth. In one example,AS 195 may also forward the service discovery request, or theidentification of the PDN contained in the request, to a domain nameserver (DNS) 192 to correlate the service discovery request with anappropriate access point name (APN) for the PDN. For ease ofillustration, various links between DNS 192 and other components ofcellular core network 130 are omitted from FIG. 1.

AS 195 may also obtain a selection of a network slice (or candidatenetwork slices) for the 5G session from NSSF 136. In one example, NSSF136 may also provide a selection of a network slice (or candidatenetwork slices) for the 4G session. In one example, NSSF 136 may selectthe appropriate slice(s) based upon the time of day, the SLA, a type ofservice associated with the request, a network state, a capability ofthe endpoint device 106, an identity of the PDN, the APN that isobtained from DNS 192, and/or other criteria. In another example, NSSF136 may provide a selection of available network slices from which AS195 may select a slice (or slices) in accordance with the same orsimilar criteria. AS 195 may then establish the first (4G) session andthe second (5G) session for the connection to the PDN based upon theavailable criteria and/or the network slice(s) identified by NSSF 136.

In one example, AS 195 and/or NSSF 136 may monitor a variety ofconditions relating to the endpoint device 106 and network conditions.For instance, AS 195 and/or NSSF 136 may detect various conditionsrelating to time, endpoint device location, user preference, type ofservice, service conditions, network conditions, and/or devicecapability. In one example, AS 195 and/or NSSF 136 may be incommunication with a variety of devices in cellular core network 130,access network 120, or other portions of cellular network 110 to obtainmeasurements, flags, statistics, and other data pertaining to thevariety of trigger conditions. For instance, AS 195 and/or NSSF 136 mayobtain a number of current session threads, a number of assigned and/oravailable ports, and so forth from AMF 135. In one example, AS 195and/or NSSF 136 may obtain memory utilization, processor idle time, peakprocessor utilization, free capacity, and other measurements from AMF135, SMF 137, UPF 139, MME 131, SGW 132, PGW 134, and so on (or from theNFVI/host device(s) underlying these various network functions). In oneexample, AS 195 and/or NSSF 136 may utilize one or more of thesecriteria as an alternative or in addition to the type of service inorder to select network slice(s) from among different available 5Gand/or LTE network slices.

In one example, to establish the 4G/LTE session, AS 195 may select aPGW, e.g., PGW 134, for accessing the PDN based upon the APN, and mayconfigure SGW 132, cell site 124, and/or PGW 134 to handle trafficbetween UE 106 and the PDN. In other words, a session via 4G radioaccess infrastructure may be established for at least a portion of theconnection between UE 106 and the PDN. In one example, AS 195 may alsoconfigure an MME (e.g., MME 131 to manage the 4G session, includingsession establishment, teardown, hold time, keep-alive time, and soforth. In another example, a network slice may be designated to includeMME 131, SGW 132, and PGW 134. In such an example, AS 195 may instructMME 131 to establish the session, where MME 131 may configure SGW 132and PGW 134 to further establish the session for the connection betweenUE 106 and the PDN. In addition, in such an example, MME 131 may alsonotify AS 195 of the registration of UE 106 and the activation of thesession via SGW 132 and PGW 134.

In one example, to establish the 5G session, AS 195 may send aninstruction to AMF 135 according to a response from NSSF 136. In oneexample, the instruction may also identify that AMF 135 should configureSMF 137 and UPF 139 to establish the 5G session. In another example, AS195 may send separate instructions to each of AMF 135, SMF 137, and UPF139 to engage the respective devices for the 5G session. For instance,SMF 137 and UPF 139 may be configured to handle the traffic between UE106 and the PDN via cell site 122 and BBU pool 126. In other words, asession via 5G radio access infrastructure may be established for atleast a portion of the connection between the UE 106 and the PDN. In oneexample, the request for service discovery (e.g., the request toestablish the session) may be received by AMF 135. In one example, AS195 may engage a different AMF if the different AMF is part of thenetwork slice that is assigned. However, for illustrative purposes, itis assumed that AMF 135 handling the establishment of the sessionremains part of the session once established. In addition, the portionof BBU pool 126 assigned for cell site 122 or cell site 123 may beconfigured via a command from the AS 195 and/or AMF 135 to directtraffic to and receive traffic from UPF 139 for communications betweenUE 106 and the PDN. In one example, AS 195 may also configure SMF 135 tomanage the 5G session, including session establishment, teardown, holdtime, keep-alive time, and so forth.

In one example, AS 195 may configure the first session or the secondsession for control plane signaling for the connection. In one example,AS 195 may select the first session (the 4G session) or the secondsession (the 5G session) for the control plane signaling based upon avariety of conditions that are monitored by AS 195, such as thosedescribed above relating to the time of day, the SLA, a type of serviceassociated with the request, a network state, a capability of theendpoint device 106, an identity of the PDN, the APN that is obtainedfrom DNS 192, and/or other criteria. For instance, AS 195 may beconfigured with a preference to utilize the first session (e.g., usingthe first (4G) radio access infrastructure) for the control plane sincethe effective communication distances between a base station andendpoint device are typically greater using 4G frequencies as comparedto the higher frequencies (e.g., millimeter wave frequencies) designatedfor high-data rate communication of 5G, such as high definitionstreaming video.

To further establish a dual session connection to the PDN, AS 195 mayconfigure the first session, the second session, or both the firstsession and the second session for user plane communications for theconnection. In one example, AS 195 may assign a first data volume or afirst percentage of user plane data of the connection to the firstsession, and assign a second data volume or a second percentage of userplane data of the connection to the second session. In one example, theassigning the first data volume or the first percentage and theassigning the second data volume or the second percentage are based uponthe time of day, the SLA, a type of service associated with the request,a network state, a capability of the endpoint device 106, an identity ofthe PDN, the APN that is obtained from DNS 192, and/or other criteria.For example, as described above, AS 195 may monitor a variety ofconditions that may individually or collectively cause AS 195 toapportion respective data volumes or percentages of user plane data ofthe connection of the endpoint device to the PDN over the 4G radioaccess infrastructure and the 5G radio access infrastructure.

In one example, AS 195 may send messages to MME 131 and AMF 135regarding the respective data volumes and/or percentages of user planedata that are assigned to the respective sessions. In one example, MME131 and AMF 135 may further configure SMF 137, UPF 139, SGW 132, and/orPGW 134 to provide the requisite level of resources and/or to enforcelimits in accordance with the allotted data volumes or percentages. Inone example, AS 195 may also transmit an instruction to endpoint device106 containing parameters of the connection to the PDN. In one example,the parameters include an identification of the first session or thesecond session that is configured for control plane signaling for theconnection. The parameters may further include an apportionment of datavolumes or percentages of user plane data of the connection of theendpoint device to the PDN over the 4G radio access infrastructure andthe 5G radio access infrastructure, an identification of the cellsite(s), SGW 132, MME 131, AMF 135, UPF 139 and so forth that areassociated with the respective sessions, and so on.

UE 106 may then communicate with the PDN (e.g., one or more serversdeployed in the PDN) via the connection by sending user plane data viathe first session using a 4G radio and antenna array and via the secondsession using a 5G radio and antenna array. In addition, control planedata for the connection may be conveyed via the designated first radioaccess infrastructure or second radio access infrastructure. Therespective radios and antenna arrays may be simultaneously active andmaintain RRC state with respective cell sites (or 4G and 5G componentsof a same cell site). In one example, endpoint device 106 includes aseparate and independent dynamic trusted execution environment (d-TEE)for each of 5G and LTE communications so that independent sessions (butassociated with the combined PDN connection) can be instantiated on both5G and LTE without interference.

As mentioned above, in one example, the present disclosure furtherprovides a dynamic time-to-live (d-TTL) which allows intelligentallocation of resources based on a dynamic assignment of TTL for each 5Gand LTE session. In one example, 4G components and 5G components mayexchange notifications of control plane or user plane communications viathe respective sessions. Thus, for example, if there has been no trafficon a 4G session, but the 5G session indicates that the connection to thePDN should continue, the 5G components may notify the 4G components suchthat the TTL for the 4G session can be extended. In one example, thenotifications may be exchanged between AMF 135 and MME 131, or betweenrespective cell sites and/or BBUs. In another example, the notificationsmay be sent to AS 195, which may control the d-TTL for both the 4Gsession and the 5G session through respective messages to MME 131, AMF135 and/or SMF 137, and so forth.

The foregoing description of the system 100 is provided as anillustrative example only. In other words, the example of system 100 ismerely illustrative of one network configuration that is suitable forimplementing embodiments of the present disclosure. As such, otherlogical and/or physical arrangements for the system 100 may beimplemented in accordance with the present disclosure. For example, thesystem 100 may be expanded to include additional networks, such asnetwork operations center (NOC) networks, additional access networks,and so forth. The system 100 may also be expanded to include additionalnetwork elements such as border elements, routers, switches, policyservers, security devices, gateways, a content distribution network(CDN) and the like, without altering the scope of the presentdisclosure. In addition, system 100 may be altered to omit variouselements, substitute elements for devices that perform the same orsimilar functions, combine elements that are illustrated as separatedevices, and/or implement network elements as functions that are spreadacross several devices that operate collectively as the respectivenetwork elements.

For instance, in one example, the cellular core network 130 may furtherinclude a Diameter routing agent (DRA) which may be engaged in theproper routing of messages between other elements within cellular corenetwork 130, and with other components of the system 100, such as a callsession control function (CSCF) (not shown) in IMS network 150. Inanother example, the NSSF 136 may be integrated within the AMF 135. Inaddition, cellular core network 130 may also include additional 5G NGcore components, such as: a policy control function (PCF), anauthentication server function (AUSF), a network repository function(NRF), and other application functions (AFs). In the above example, theinterworking device comprises a dedicated device (e.g., AS 195).However, in another example, the interworking device may compriseanother 5G core network (CN) component, such as AMF 135. It should alsobe noted that in one example, UE 106 may establish and maintainconnections to the cellular core network 130 via multiple gNBs. However,for illustrative purposes, the example above is described where UE 106connects to a single gNB (e.g., cell site 122 or cell site 123, or cellsite 122 or cell site 123 in conjunction with baseband processingunit(s) from BBU pool 126). Thus, these and other modifications are allcontemplated within the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 200 for establishinga dual session packet data network connection via a cellular network, inaccordance with the present disclosure. In one example, steps, functionsand/or operations of the method 200 may be performed by a device asillustrated in FIG. 1, e.g., AS 195, AMF 135, or any one or morecomponents thereof, such as a processing system, or collectively via aplurality devices in FIG. 1, such as 195 and/or AMF 135 in conjunctionwith MME 131, NSSF 136, SGW 132, PGW 134, SMF 137, UPF 139, any one ormore of cell sites 121-124, and so forth. In one example, the steps,functions, or operations of method 200 may be performed by a computingdevice or system 300, and/or a processing system 302 as described inconnection with FIG. 3 below. For instance, the computing device 300 mayrepresent at least a portion of AS 195 and/or AMF 135 in accordance withthe present disclosure. For illustrative purposes, the method 200 isdescribed in greater detail below in connection with an exampleperformed by a processing system, such as processing system 302. Themethod 200 begins in step 205 and proceeds to step 210.

At step 210, the processing system (deployed in a cellular network)receives, from an endpoint device, a request to establish a connectionto a packet data network (PDN) via the cellular network, where therequest is received via one of a first radio access infrastructure ofthe cellular network or a second radio access infrastructure of thecellular network. In one example, the first radio access infrastructurecomprises 4G base station equipment/radio access network components,e.g., an eNodeB. In one example, the first radio access infrastructurecomprises omnidirectional antennas. However, the omnidirectionalantennas may utilize a reflective backplane such that a given antennamay generate transmit and receive beams in a particular sector (e.g., a120 degree sector with a generally symmetric 60 degree half-powerbeamwidth, or the like). In one example, the first radio accessinfrastructure is configured to operate in a frequency band below 5 GHz.In one example, the first radio access infrastructure may be configuredto operate within LTE frequency bands, e.g., generally 500 MHz to 3 GHz.The endpoint device may include a first radio and/or antenna that isdesigned for use in the same frequency band and which may be used totransmit the request via the first radio access infrastructure. In oneexample, the request may be forwarded by the first radio accessinfrastructure to an MME. In addition, in one example, the processingsystem may receive the request via the MME.

In one example, the endpoint device includes a second radio and/orantenna, e.g., including an MIMO beamforming-capable antenna array for5G communications, that may be designed for operation in a frequencyband greater than 5 GHz. In one example, the array for 5G may bedesigned for operation in a frequency band greater than 20 GHz.Similarly, the second radio access infrastructure may comprise 5G basestation equipment/radio access network components, e.g., a 5G NR, orgNB. In one example, the request may be forwarded by the second radioaccess infrastructure to an AMF. In addition, in one example, theprocessing system may receive the request via the AMF. Although therequest is received via one of the first radio access infrastructure orthe second radio access infrastructure, in accordance with the presentdisclosure the connection to the PDN that is to be established includesboth a first session via the first radio access infrastructure and asecond session via the second radio access infrastructure.

At optional step 220, the processing system may obtain a selection of anetwork slice for the second session from a network slice selectionfunction (NSSF). For instance, a network slice may comprise a set ofcellular network components such as AMF(s), SMF(s), UPF(s), and so forththat may be arranged into different network slices which may logicallybe considered to be separate cellular networks. In one example,different base station equipment, or radio access infrastructure (e.g.,RRHs, BBUs, etc.) may also be assigned to different network slices. Inone example, different network slices may be preferentially utilized fordifferent types of services. Thus, the network slice may be selectedbased upon the type of service associated with the request received fromthe endpoint device at step 210.

In one example, the processing system may also monitor a variety ofconditions relating to the endpoint device and network conditions. Forinstance, the processing system may detect various conditions relatingto time, endpoint device location, user preference, type of service,service conditions, network conditions, and/or device capability. In oneexample, the processing system may utilize one or more of these criteriaas an alternative or in addition to the type of service in order toselect the network slice for the second session among differentavailable 5G-based network slices. For example, there may be more thanone network slice that is designated for streaming video traffic.However, one of the network slices may be overloaded, one or morecomponents thereof may be scheduled for maintenance or replacement, andso forth. As such, in one example, the processing system may select analternative network slice that may also be designated to handlestreaming video, even if such slice has a greater current load.Similarly, in another example, the processing system may select formamong network slices based upon other criteria, such as minimizing anestimated latency, achieving a quality of service metric in accordancewith a service level agreement (SLA) with a subscriber associated withthe endpoint device, the request, and/or the packet data network, and soon.

At optional step 230, the processing system may obtain a selection of anetwork slice for the first session from the NSSF. For example, thefirst session may also be via a network slice of the cellular network.For instance, the cellular network may utilize a SDN-based LTE corenetwork infrastructure with NFVI/host devices that can be configured andreconfigured as various LTE core network components. As such, in oneexample, the processing system may obtain a selection of a network slicefor the first session for the endpoint device via the first radio accessinfrastructure from the NSSF. In one example, the same or similarcriteria as described in connection with optional step 220 may also beused to determine the network slice for the first session amongdifferent available LTE-based network slices.

At step 240, the processing system establishes, in response to therequest, the first session for the endpoint device via the first radioaccess infrastructure. In one example, the first session is furtherestablished via components of an evolved packet core (EPC), e.g., aserving gateway (SGW) and a packet data network gateway (PGW). In oneexample, the first session is established by transmitting an instructionto an MME to configure the SGW and PGW for the first session. If therequest is received via the first radio access infrastructure at step210, the instruction may be to the same MME via which the request isreceived. In one example, the same or a separate instruction may alsosignal to the MME to manage the session. In addition, in one example,the processing system may send an instruction to the first radio accessinfrastructure (e.g., an eNodeB) to configure the first radio accessinfrastructure to transmit and receive communications (e.g., user planedata) for the connection to the PDN via the SGW. In one example, thefirst session may be established in accordance with the selection of thenetwork slice for the first session that may be obtained at optionalstep 230.

At step 250, the processing system establishes in response to therequest, the second session for the endpoint device via the second radioaccess infrastructure of the cellular network. It should be noted thatthe connection to the packet data network comprises the first sessionand the second session. In one example, the second session isestablished via the network slice that may be identified at optionalstep 220. In one example, the second session is established viainstructions to an AMF (e.g., when the processing system is not the AMF,or not a component thereof). In one example, the establishing of thesecond session may include configuring a user plane function (UPF) ofthe cellular network for the second session and configuring the secondradio access infrastructure (e.g., a gNB) via an instruction to transmitand receive communications (e.g., user plane data) for the connection tothe PDN via the UPF. In one example, the establishing of the secondsession may further include configuring a session management function(SMF) of the cellular network for managing the second session via theUPF and the AMF.

At step 260, the processing system configures the first session or thesecond session for control plane signaling for the connection. In oneexample, the processing system may select the first session or thesecond session for the control plane signaling based upon a variety ofconditions relating to the endpoint device and network conditions,including the type of service associated with the request that isreceived at step 210. In one example, the processing system may monitorthe same or similar criteria and conditions as described above inconnection with steps 220 and 230 to determine whether to utilize thefirst session (e.g., the 4G radio access infrastructure) or the secondsession (e.g., the 5G radio access infrastructure) for the control planedata associated with the connection. For example, the processing systemmay detect various conditions relating to time, endpoint devicelocation, user preference, type of service, service conditions, SLA,network conditions, and/or device capability that may cause theprocessing system to select either the 4G radio access infrastructure orthe 5G radio access infrastructure for the control plane of theconnection between the endpoint device and the PDN.

To illustrate, in one example, the processing system may be configuredwith a preference to utilize the first session (e.g., using the first(4G) radio access infrastructure) for the control plane since theeffective communication distances between a base station and endpointdevice are typically greater using 4G frequencies as compared to thehigher frequencies designated for high-data rate communications of 5G.Similarly, the loss through building walls and other obstructions maygenerally be considered less for 4G frequencies as compared to thehigher 5G millimeter wave frequencies. Hence, the reliability of thecontrol plane may be better with 4G as compared to 5G, depending uponthe particular circumstances. The preference may be overridden basedupon certain criteria, such as if the endpoint device is determined tobe stationary and within a 5G coverage footprint, if the 4G radio accessinfrastructure is overloaded, if there are greater than a thresholdnumber of transmit-receive beam pairs between the endpoint device and agNB with a signal strength above a threshold, and so forth. In anotherexample, there may be a preference to utilize the second session for thecontrol plane when there is an enhanced security requirement for theconnection, e.g., based upon the type of service being requested, basedupon the endpoint device and/or the SLA of the customer associated withthe endpoint device, based upon the identity of the PDN to which theconnection is requested, and so forth.

At step 270, the processing system configures the first session, thesecond session, or both the first session and the second session foruser plane communications for the connection. In one example, step 270may include assigning a first data volume or a first percentage of userplane data of the connection to the first session, and assigning asecond data volume or a second percentage of user plane data of theconnection to the second session. In one example, the assigning thefirst data volume or the first percentage and the assigning the seconddata volume or the second percentage are based upon a time, an endpointdevice location, a user preference, an SLA, a type of service, serviceconditions, network conditions, and/or device capability. For example,as described above, the processing system may monitor a variety ofconditions that may individually or collectively cause the processingsystem to apportion respective data volumes or percentages of user planedata of the connection of the endpoint device to the PDN over the 4Gradio access infrastructure and the 5G radio access infrastructure.

To illustrate, in one example, if the connection is for a videoconference service, the processing system may be configured to assign avoice portion of the connection to the first session (e.g., the 4G radioaccess infrastructure) and an video image portion to the second session(e.g., the 5G radio access infrastructure). In another example, bothvoice and video image may be apportioned to the second session, whilethe first session may not be utilized for user plane data. For instance,the first session may be utilized for the control plane and the secondsession may be utilized for the user plane. In still another example,there may be a preference for both control plane data and user planedata to utilize the second session (the 5G session). However, as 5Ginfrastructure is gradually deployed in the cellular network, there maybe insufficient capacity to accommodate all demand for 5G. As such, inone example, the processing system may assign a percentage of the userplane data to utilize the second session, with the remainder beingassigned to the first session. In addition, in one example, the same ora different type of apportionment may be applied to other endpointdevices or other subscribers within a same geographic area (e.g., a samecell site, service area, etc.), to other requests to connect to the samePDN, and so forth, depending upon the current load of 5G infrastructurewithin the relevant network slice or other relevant portion of thecellular network, etc.

At optional step 280, the processing system may transmit an instructionto the endpoint device containing parameters of the connection to thepacket data network. In one example, the parameters include anidentification of the first session or the second session that isconfigured for control plane signaling for the connection. Theparameters may further include an apportionment of data volumes orpercentages of user plane data of the connection of the endpoint deviceto the PDN over the 4G radio access infrastructure and the 5G radioaccess infrastructure. Following step 270 or optional step 280, themethod 200 may proceed to step 295 where the method ends.

It should be noted that the method 200 may be expanded to includeadditional steps or may be modified to include additional operationswith respect to the steps outlined above. In addition, although notspecifically specified, one or more steps, functions, or operations ofthe method 200 may include a storing, displaying, and/or outputting stepas required for a particular application. In other words, any data,records, fields, and/or intermediate results discussed in the method canbe stored, displayed, and/or outputted either on the device executingthe method or to another device, as required for a particularapplication. Furthermore, steps, blocks, functions or operations in FIG.2 that recite a determining operation or involve a decision do notnecessarily require that both branches of the determining operation bepracticed. In other words, one of the branches of the determiningoperation can be deemed as an optional step. Furthermore, steps, blocks,functions or operations of the above described method can be combined,separated, and/or performed in a different order from that describedabove, without departing from the examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 depicts a high-level block diagram of a computing device orprocessing system specifically programmed to perform the functionsdescribed herein. As depicted in FIG. 3, the processing system 300comprises one or more hardware processor elements 302 (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, or a multi-core processor), amemory 304 (e.g., random access memory (RAM) and/or read only memory(ROM)), a module 305 for transferring a connection to a packet datanetwork from a first session via a first radio access infrastructure toa second session via a second radio access infrastructure, and variousinput/output devices 306 (e.g., storage devices, including but notlimited to, a tape drive, a floppy drive, a hard disk drive or a compactdisk drive, a receiver, a transmitter, a speaker, a display, a speechsynthesizer, an output port, an input port and a user input device (suchas a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a microphone and the like)). Inaccordance with the present disclosure input/output devices 306 may alsoinclude antenna elements, antenna arrays, remote radio heads (RRHs),baseband units (BBUs), transceivers, power units, and so forth. Althoughonly one processor element is shown, it should be noted that thecomputing device may employ a plurality of processor elements.Furthermore, although only one computing device is shown in the figure,if the method 200 as discussed above is implemented in a distributed orparallel manner for a particular illustrative example, i.e., the stepsof the above method 200, or the entire method 200 is implemented acrossmultiple or parallel computing devices, e.g., a processing system, thenthe computing device of this figure is intended to represent each ofthose multiple computing devices.

Furthermore, one or more hardware processors can be utilized insupporting a virtualized or shared computing environment. Thevirtualized computing environment may support one or more virtualmachines representing computers, servers, or other computing devices. Insuch virtualized virtual machines, hardware components such as hardwareprocessors and computer-readable storage devices may be virtualized orlogically represented. The hardware processor 302 can also be configuredor programmed to cause other devices to perform one or more operationsas discussed above. In other words, the hardware processor 302 may servethe function of a central controller directing other devices to performthe one or more operations as discussed above.

It should be noted that the present disclosure can be implemented insoftware and/or in a combination of software and hardware, e.g., usingapplication specific integrated circuits (ASIC), a programmable gatearray (PGA) including a Field PGA, or a state machine deployed on ahardware device, a computing device or any other hardware equivalents,e.g., computer readable instructions pertaining to the method discussedabove can be used to configure a hardware processor to perform thesteps, functions and/or operations of the above disclosed method 200. Inone example, instructions and data for the present module or process 305for transferring a connection to a packet data network from a firstsession via a first radio access infrastructure to a second session viaa second radio access infrastructure (e.g., a software programcomprising computer-executable instructions) can be loaded into memory304 and executed by hardware processor element 302 to implement thesteps, functions, or operations as discussed above in connection withthe illustrative method 200. Furthermore, when a hardware processorexecutes instructions to perform “operations,” this could include thehardware processor performing the operations directly and/orfacilitating, directing, or cooperating with another hardware device orcomponent (e.g., a co-processor and the like) to perform the operations.

The processor executing the computer readable or software instructionsrelating to the above described method can be perceived as a programmedprocessor or a specialized processor. As such, the present module 305for transferring a connection to a packet data network from a firstsession via a first radio access infrastructure to a second session viaa second radio access infrastructure (including associated datastructures) of the present disclosure can be stored on a tangible orphysical (broadly non-transitory) computer-readable storage device ormedium, e.g., volatile memory, non-volatile memory, ROM memory, RAMmemory, magnetic or optical drive, device or diskette, and the like.Furthermore, a “tangible” computer-readable storage device or mediumcomprises a physical device, a hardware device, or a device that isdiscernible by the touch. More specifically, the computer-readablestorage device may comprise any physical devices that provide theability to store information such as data and/or instructions to beaccessed by a processor or a computing device such as a computer or anapplication server.

While various examples have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of illustration only,and not a limitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of any aspect of thepresent disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-describedexamples, but should be defined only in accordance with the followingclaims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving from an endpointdevice, by a processing system of a cellular network including at leastone processor, a request to establish a connection to a packet datanetwork via the cellular network, wherein the request is received viaone of a first radio access infrastructure of the cellular network or asecond radio access infrastructure of the cellular network;establishing, by the processing system in response to the request, afirst session for the endpoint device via the first radio accessinfrastructure; establishing, by the processing system in response tothe request, a second session for the endpoint device via the secondradio access infrastructure of the cellular network, wherein theconnection to the packet data network comprises the first session andthe second session; configuring, by the processing system, a first oneof the first session or the second session for control plane signalingfor the connection, wherein the control plane signaling is for both thefirst session and the second session; configuring, by the processingsystem, at least a second one of the first session or the second sessionfor user plane communications for the connection; and transmitting, bythe processing system, an instruction to the endpoint device containingat least one parameter of the connection to the packet data network,wherein the at least one parameter includes an identification of thefirst one of the first session or the second session that is configuredfor control plane signaling for the connection.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the configuring the at least the second one of the firstsession or the second session for the user plane communications for theconnection comprises: assigning a first data volume or a firstpercentage of user plane data of the connection to the first session;and assigning a second data volume or a second percentage of user planedata of the connection to the second session.
 3. The method of claim 2,wherein the assigning the first data volume or the first percentage andthe assigning the second data volume or the second percentage are basedupon: a time of day; a location; an event; an indication of a userpreference for the second session; a service performance; a condition ofthe cellular network; or a capability of the endpoint device.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the endpoint device utilizes a first radiofor the connection to the packet data network via the first session anda second radio for the connection to the packet data network via thesecond session, and wherein the first radio and the second radio areboth activated for the connection.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thefirst radio access infrastructure is configured to operate in afrequency band below 5 gigahertz and wherein the second radio accessinfrastructure is configured to operate in a frequency band above 5gigahertz.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the second radio accessinfrastructure is configured to operate in a frequency band above 20gigahertz.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first radio accessinfrastructure comprises long term evolution radio access components andwherein the second radio access infrastructure comprises fifthgeneration radio access components.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereinthe second radio access infrastructure comprisesmultiple-in/multiple-out beamforming components.
 9. The method of claim1, wherein the first session is via a first network slice of thecellular network and wherein the second session is via a second networkslice of the cellular network, the method further comprising: obtaininga selection of the first network slice from a network slice selectionfunction; and obtaining a selection of the second network slice from thenetwork slice selection function.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein thefirst session is further established via a serving gateway and a packetdata network gateway, and wherein the first session is established bytransmitting an instruction to a mobility management entity to configurethe serving gateway and packet data network gateway for the firstsession.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the request is receivedfrom the mobility management entity.
 12. The method of claim 10, whereinthe first session is further established by configuring the first radioaccess infrastructure to transmit and receive the user planecommunications for the connection to the packet data network via theserving gateway.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein, when the firstsession is configured for the control plane signaling for theconnection, the configuring of the first session for the control planesignaling comprises configuring the first radio access infrastructure totransmit and receive the control plane signaling for the connection tothe packet data network via the mobility management entity.
 14. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the request is received from an accessmanagement function of the cellular network.
 15. The method of claim 1,wherein the second session is established by: configuring a user planefunction of the cellular network for the second session; and configuringthe second radio access infrastructure to transmit and receive the userplane communications for the connection to the packet data network viathe user plane function.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the secondsession is established by transmitting an instruction to an accessmanagement function of the cellular network to configure the user planefunction of the cellular network.
 17. A non-transitory computer-readablemedium storing instructions which, when executed by a processing systemof a cellular network including at least one processor, cause theprocessing system to perform operations, the operations comprising:receiving, from an endpoint device, a request to establish a connectionto a packet data network via the cellular network, wherein the requestis received via one of a first radio access infrastructure of thecellular network or a second radio access infrastructure of the cellularnetwork; establishing, in response to the request, a first session forthe endpoint device via the first radio access infrastructure;establishing, in response to the request, a second session for theendpoint device via the second radio access infrastructure of thecellular network, wherein the connection to the packet data networkcomprises the first session and the second session; configuring a firstone of the first session or the second session for control planesignaling for the connection, wherein the control plane signaling is forboth the first session and the second session; configuring at least asecond one of the first session or the second session for user planecommunications for the connection; and transmitting an instruction tothe endpoint device containing at least one parameter of the connectionto the packet data network, wherein the at least one parameter includesan identification of the first one of the first session or the secondsession that is configured for control plane signaling for theconnection.
 18. A device comprising: a processing system including atleast one processor; and a non-transitory computer-readable mediumstoring instructions which, when executed by the processing system whendeployed in a cellular network, cause the processing system to performoperations, the operations comprising: receiving, from an endpointdevice, a request to establish a connection to a packet data network viathe cellular network, wherein the request is received via one of a firstradio access infrastructure of the cellular network or a second radioaccess infrastructure of the cellular network; establishing, in responseto the request, a first session for the endpoint device via the firstradio access infrastructure; establishing, in response to the request, asecond session for the endpoint device via the second radio accessinfrastructure of the cellular network, wherein the connection to thepacket data network comprises the first session and the second session;configuring a first one of the first session or the second session forcontrol plane signaling for the connection, wherein the control planesignaling is for both the first session and the second session;configuring at least a second one of the first session or the secondsession for user plane communications for the connection; andtransmitting an instruction to the endpoint device containing at leastone parameter of the connection to the packet data network, wherein theat least one parameter includes an identification of the first one ofthe first session or the second session that is configured for controlplane signaling for the connection.
 19. The device of claim 18, whereinthe configuring the at least the second one of the first session or thesecond session for the user plane communications for the connectioncomprises: assigning a first data volume or a first percentage of userplane data of the connection to the first session; and assigning asecond data volume or a second percentage of user plane data of theconnection to the second session.
 20. The device of claim 19, whereinthe assigning the first data volume or the first percentage and theassigning the second data volume or the second percentage are basedupon: a time of day; a location; an event; an indication of a userpreference for the second session; a service performance; a condition ofthe cellular network; or a capability of the endpoint device.